Gran Canaria is better known for beaches and winter sunshine than golf, but Las Palmas is actually a very useful base if you want to include a round or two during your stay. You do not necessarily have to travel to the resort areas in the south: there are golf options in the city itself and within easy reach of the capital.
The most interesting choice is also the most historic. Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas sits beside the volcanic landscape of Bandama and traces its history back to 1891. Add El Cortijo near Telde and the urban Las Palmeras Golf, and you have several very different ways to play without turning your Las Palmas holiday into a dedicated golf trip.
Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas – golf beside Bandama
If I were choosing one course near Las Palmas, this is where I would start. Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas is located at Bandama in the municipality of Santa Brígida, beside the volcanic crater and only a relatively short journey from the city.
The club is particularly notable for its history: it describes itself as the oldest golf club in Spain, founded in 1891. The setting is just as interesting as the pedigree, with the course surrounded by the volcanic and ravine landscape of inland Gran Canaria.
This makes Bandama a good option even for a mixed holiday where only one person is particularly interested in golf. A round can be combined with viewpoints around Bandama or other stops in the interior rather than requiring an entire day at a coastal golf resort.
El Cortijo Club de Campo
Another full-size option close to Las Palmas is El Cortijo Club de Campo near Telde. Gran Canaria’s tourism information places it around six kilometres from Las Palmas and describes an 18-hole, par-72 course with hundreds of mature palm trees, lakes and practice facilities.
Its location near the GC-1 makes it particularly convenient if you have a rental car. It can also fit naturally into a day when you are travelling between Las Palmas and the airport or the eastern side of Gran Canaria.
For a visitor who wants a conventional full round without travelling all the way to Maspalomas or Mogán, El Cortijo is therefore well worth checking.
Las Palmeras Golf – play without leaving the city
You can even play golf within Las Palmas itself. Las Palmeras Golf is an urban 18-hole par-3 course recognised as Pitch & Putt, with short holes designed for a much quicker form of the game.
This is the option I would choose if golf is only a small part of the holiday. You can spend the morning sightseeing or at Las Canteras, play a shorter round and still have the evening free in the city.
It can also suit beginners, families or experienced golfers who simply want some practice rather than committing half a day to a full-length course.
What about the golf courses in southern Gran Canaria?
If you are serious about golf, limiting yourself to the Las Palmas area would mean missing several of Gran Canaria’s best-known courses. The south of the island has a cluster of resort golf around Maspalomas, Meloneras, Salobre and Tauro.
Maspalomas Golf sits beside the famous dune landscape, while Meloneras combines mountain and Atlantic views. Salobre offers resort golf in the dry southern landscape, and Anfi Golf at Tauro is an 18-hole par-72 course overlooking the valley and Atlantic.
These are realistic day trips from Las Palmas, especially with a rental car, but I would treat them differently from Bandama, El Cortijo and Las Palmeras. You are travelling south specifically to play golf rather than simply adding golf to a city break.
Do you need a rental car?
For golf, a car becomes more useful than it is for an ordinary Las Palmas holiday. Carrying clubs on public transport is rarely the most relaxing way to start a round, and several courses sit outside the areas served most conveniently by city buses.
A taxi can make sense for Bandama or another nearby course, particularly if two players are sharing the cost. For repeated rounds or courses in southern Gran Canaria, I would strongly consider renting a car.
Bring clubs or rent them?
If golf is the main purpose of your trip, travelling with your own clubs may be worthwhile. For one spontaneous round during a city holiday, hiring equipment locally can be far easier.
Check directly with the course before travelling. Visitor tee times, equipment rental, dress requirements, handicaps and green fees can vary, and availability may be tighter during popular periods.
Golf and a Las Palmas city break
What I like about staying in Las Palmas is that golf does not have to dominate the holiday. You can have breakfast beside Las Canteras, play at Bandama or El Cortijo and be back in the city for dinner.
Alternatively, play a quick round at Las Palmeras without really leaving Las Palmas at all. If you later decide you want more golf, rent a car for a day and head south towards the resort courses.
That flexibility makes Las Palmas a surprisingly good golf base. You get a genuine Spanish island city rather than a golf resort, while several very different courses remain within reach.
Green fees, visitor access, tee-time availability, equipment rental and course conditions change. Check directly with each golf club before planning your round.